A little project that I've been working on for the past few weeks...
This is an Ixion manor bought on Ebay and now sporting a partly completed Nigel Ashton milled brass 2FS chassis.
This evening was its first proper test run. South Yard is a bit too short for this sort of activity so after a few initial runs there to make sure the thing could actually move it was up to the loft to try it on the rehomed (and not very scenic) Taw Bridge where there is at least 6 feet or so of clear run.
When the loco arrived from Ebay I was very impressed by the running of the original Ixion chassis and I thought that the 2FS version had a lot to live up to. Happily it has managed to pass that test with flying colours . It runs very smoothly indeed at all speeds although it doesn't go very fast because I chose the slowest possible gear ratio. Pickup is very reliable because it picks up from the split frame loco chassis and also has pinpoint pickups on the tender. It also managed to pull 4 Colletts back and forth (leaving Rapido couplers on the ends of a few coaches has advantages sometimes )
The test was interrupted for a meal break during which the loco stayed in the loft so I now also know that it still runs well after cooling to sub zero temperatures.
Lots of work still to do... most notably adding the conn rods and crosshead... hopefully without screwing up the nice running qualities. And then I need to do something to lose that 'out of the box' look for the body... which leads me on to...
Early BR black is of course hopeless in terms of historical fit with all of my other stock. The black thing probably won't be the long term body for this loco because Dapol were knocking out Manors for 40 quid at Warley, so I was unable to resist buying another one in late BR green - rather more suitable as a supporting cast member for some nice green Warships.
Anybody know where to get hold of etched GW name and number plates? I only know where to buy diesel nameplates.
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